THE BOOK AS A PROJECT

&nbsp>Which are the 5 indispensable pictures for this book?

Photographer: I can’t point such. This is a puzzle that should work as a whole piece without focus on single images. The viewer should not get into the individual situations I photographed. I hope it works like that.

What is the framed structure of this book?

Book Designer: The idea was to create a minimal object that would reduce the artistic, photographic gesture. The object the viewer could decipher layer by layer and finally something that evokes confusion.

How did you choose your book designer?

P: The design process included 3 of us: Ania Nałecka, Stuart Smith from GOST and myself. Ania was a natural selection. We have been working together since our first book. Stuart joined the design team when it was decided the book will be published by GOST.

What was your approach to get into the photographic project?

BD: The thing was how to simplify it the most. However the book might seem complicated it was really about eliminating. It was the need of reducing the text that came out with the texts on both covers and hidden captions.

How did you develop the work on the book?

P: It was supposed to be the book since I started to work on this project. When the shooting was over I started to think what I could communicate with the book as an object and how to strengthen the message behind the pictures. It was a ping pong exchange between Ania and myself. Being a retired graphic designer brought me to initial ideas which than we polished together with Ania. I think it was the most conscious process in terms of bookmaking I experienced so far. The unique thing with this book was pretty clear vision what this book should be as an object.

BD: After setting together with Rafał main structure of the book – first dummy. Which was transmitting main text on the covers, idea of tipped in photographs and setting main layout proportions, etc I was mostly in role of consultant.

THE BOOK AS A STORY

&nbsp>Which narrative slant did you choose for this book and why?

BD: It’s a typology. Boring, monotone, single tone story. It was supposed to be like that. Viewer shouldn’t focus on single images. This is not a story about individuals.

What’s the difference between the book and the photographic project slant?

P: There is basically none. If you think of images as the series of images put in a certain narrative. As this was supposed to be the book. Pictures don’t exist in any other form yet.

THE BOOK AS AN OBJECT

&nbsp>How did you choose the materials and the kind of printing?

BD: It was a combination of book construction issues with what is the project about.

How the materials’ choices are connected to the photographic project?

P: All materials represent the idea of the project: the cover material refers to communist era official document folders, the endpaper and cover colors refer to contemporary Belarusian flag which has been introduced by president Alexandr Lukashenko. The pictures are printed on paper which you can’t tear, waterproof, basically pretty resistant to any damages. It was not the initial intention but I think it nicely represents the idea of unchangeable Lukashenko’s regime. The choice of papers is directly linked to construction issues as all images are tipped in so it had to be a combination of relatively bulk paper with a very thin one.